HUNTSVILLE, AL, April 19, 2019 – The North Alabama International Trade Association announced Thursday that Huntsville molecular diagnostic firm iCubate® received the 2019 NAITA Global Trade Award at NAITA’s 36th Annual World Trade Day Luncheon.
With international sales leading the way to increased market opportunities, iCubate® provides rapid, accurate and affordable syndromic testing for infectious diseases to clinical laboratories of all sizes, ensuring that care providers across the globe have the right tools to improve treatment and outcomes for their patients. iCubate®, an associate company at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, was founded in 2009 by Jian Han, MD, PhD, who is also a faculty investigator for HudsonAlpha. Dr. Han developed novel technology for infectious disease detection and worked to recruit talent within north Alabama to develop and commercialize products that would benefit people around the world. From the whiteboard concept and technology development through FDA clearance and now in the early commercialization stage of products for bloodstream infection detection, iCubate® is positioned for global success.
In 2016, iCubate® was introduced to a publicly traded, China-based, global health care company at an international conference in San Francisco. Over the next two years, the companies explored the possibilities of working together. Last year, the two companies established a joint venture which will introduce iCubate®’s molecular diagnostic product line into China, the world’s largest patient market. The entire iCubate®team was involved in completing this deal, which further solidified this already cohesive and committed group. After many months of negotiations, iCubate®’s dedicated, talented team, albeit small, worked with this company of 1500 employees to form an alliance that will make both companies stronger and will deliver products to benefit countless people in China. Moving forward, this joint venture is not only valuable to iCubate®today, but it also provides a model for corporate success in other countries.
Since 2016, iCubate®’s sales figures have grown considerably, with a significant percentage of their current sales bound for international markets. The company continues to build on the ongoing work in Asia, while also working to leverage the company’s CE Mark in Europe and exploring opportunities in India and the Middle East.
“NAITA and the Export Alabama Alliance have been true partners and provided iCubate® assistance on multiple fronts as we have moved forward into global markets,” said Carter Wells, CEO of iCubate®. “NAITA has helped remove barriers to international success by providing direction for assessing markets, making logistics more efficient, and understanding foreign laws and business customs to name only a few. It’s an honor for iCubate® to receive NAITA’s Global Trade Award.”
The Global Trade Award was presented by Jennifer Ashcraft, Director of HR & Training with LINE-X®, the 2018 Global Trade Award Recipient, and accepted by Carter Wells, CEO of iCubate®, during the 36th Annual NAITA World Trade Day Luncheon at the Huntsville Botanical Garden
About NAITA
The North Alabama International Trade Association (NAITA) is a business-driven organization committed to increasing knowledge, interest, and activity in international trade in North Alabama for 36 years. NAITA’s mission is to provide international trade advocacy, training, and networking to promote economic growth in North Alabama. Further information on NAITA is available at naita.org.
About iCubate®
iCubate® is a molecular diagnostic company committed to providing rapid syndromic testing for infectious diseases leading to better care, sooner. The iCubate System is an all-in-one, easy to use multiplex PCR molecular diagnostics platform that detects and identifies bacterial and viral pathogens as well as antibiotic resistance markers for actionable results when clinicians need them. iCubate has created solutions for the detection of bloodstream infection through the iCubate platform and assays detecting gram-positive cocci (iC-GPC Assay™) and gram-negative rods (iC-GN Assay™). These assays provide identification of the most common bloodstream pathogens and clinically relevant antibiotic resistance markers to help guide antimicrobial therapy. The iC-GPC Assay™ has been cleared for clinical laboratory use by the U.S. FDA and the iC-GN Assay™ is currently under regulatory review. To learn more about iCubate, visit iCubate.com.
###
North Alabama International Trade Association (NAITA)
P.O. Box 2457 | Huntsville, AL 35804
Phone: (256) 532-3505 |Fax: (256) 532-3704
naita@naita.org | www.naita.org